Electric power relaying unit and image forming apparatus having the same

ABSTRACT

An electric power relaying unit of an image forming apparatus which includes an electric power blocking unit which selectively blocks the alternating current electric power output from the electric power input unit to be input to the electric power output unit, the electric power blocking unit including: a switching unit which switches an input of the alternating current electric power with respect to the electric power output unit; an electric power detecting unit which detects an electric power property; a memory unit in which a predetermined electric power property information is stored; and a control unit which controls a switching operation of the switching unit if determining that the detected electric power property corresponds to a predetermined electric power property in a failure of the image forming apparatus main body from a comparison result.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.12/801,549, filed on Jun. 14, 2010, which claims priority from KoreanPatent Application No. 10-2009-0096810, filed on Oct. 12, 2009 in theKorean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

Apparatuses consistent with the present embodiments relate to anelectric power relaying unit connected to an external power supply andan image forming apparatus having the same, and more particularly, to anelectric power relaying unit corresponding to the case that analternating current power supplied from an external power supply shows afailure electric power property and an image forming apparatus havingthe same.

2. Description of the Related Art

An image forming apparatus applies a developer, an ink, etc. to form animage on a printing medium based on an image data input from a host. Toperform this function, the image forming apparatus receives an electricpower from an external power supply.

The image forming apparatus is designed with a consideration of varioususing environments in manufacturing thereof, and is applied with aconfiguration design capable of protecting various elements in theapparatus to prepare the case that an electric power supplied from anexternal power supply shows an abnormal state such as an overcurrent.

However, since the image forming apparatus has been released to be usedunder various environments, a failure may happen due to a factor whichfails to be expected in a designing operation. For example, an electricpower supplied from an external power supply may have an abnormalproperty which was not considered in a designing operation. In thiscase, if a protecting configuration disposed in the image formingapparatus fails to block the electric power showing this property, thismay be the cause of a failure or a fire of the image forming apparatus.

If this problem happens, conventionally, the image forming apparatus iscollected from a user, and a configuration of the image formingapparatus is replaced or corrected to correspond to a failure electricpower property of the problem to be then delivered to the user. That is,a recall preventing a failure or a fire of the image forming apparatusis performed.

However, in this method, it is difficult for a general user rather thana manufacturer to repair the image forming apparatus. Accordingly, sincethe image forming apparatus should be collected to a manufacturer, it isinconvenient for the user not to use the image forming apparatus duringa recall period. Also, it is difficult for the manufacturer to collectand repair all image forming apparatus of the same model as the recalltarget.

SUMMARY

Accordingly, it is an aspect to provide an electric power relaying unitprotecting an image forming apparatus from a failure electric powerwithout the necessity that a manufacturer collects image formingapparatus when it is necessary to recall the image forming apparatus,and an image forming apparatus having the same.

The foregoing and/or other aspects can be achieved by providing anelectric power relaying unit of an image forming apparatus whichtransmits an alternating current electric power output from an externalpower supply to an image forming apparatus main body, the electric powerrelaying unit of the image forming apparatus including: an electricpower input unit which is connected to the external power supply, andreceives an alternating current electric power from the external powersupply; an electric power output unit which is connected to an electricpower input terminal of the image forming apparatus main body, andoutputs the input alternating current electric power to the imageforming apparatus main body; and an electric power blocking unit whichselectively blocks the alternating current electric power output fromthe electric power input unit to be input to the electric power outputunit, the electric power blocking unit including: a switching unit whichswitches an input of the alternating current electric power with respectto the electric power output unit; an electric power detecting unitwhich detects an electric power property of the alternating currentelectric power; a memory unit in which a predetermined electric powerproperty information is stored; and a control unit which compares anelectric power property detected by the electric power detecting unitwith an electric power property information stored in the memory unit,and controls a switching operation of the switching unit if determiningthat the detected electric power property corresponds to a predeterminedelectric power property in a failure of the image forming apparatus mainbody from a comparison result.

If the alternating current electric power corresponds to an abnormalelectric power predetermined to correspond to an operating environmentof the image forming apparatus main body, the control unit may determinethat the alternating current electric power corresponds to an electricpower property in a failure of the image forming apparatus main body.

The memory unit may store a profile of a predetermined abnormal electricpower pattern, and if an electric power pattern detected by the electricpower detecting unit corresponds to the profile of the abnormal electricpower stored in the memory unit, the control unit may determine that thealternating current electric power corresponds to an electric powerproperty in a failure of the image forming apparatus main body.

The electric power blocking unit may include an interface unit which isprovided to be accessible to the memory unit from an outside so that theprofile of the electric power pattern stored in the memory unit can beupdated.

The interface unit may include at least one of a memory port to which anexternal memory is mounted, and a communication port allowing a localcommunication or a network communication.

The electric power blocking unit may include a display unit whichdisplays that an output of the alternating current electric power isblocked by the switching unit.

The electric power output unit may be provided to allow a plurality ofimage forming apparatus main bodies to be connected thereto so that theplurality of image forming apparatus main bodies can respectivelyreceive the alternating current electric power.

The alternating current electric power output from the switching unitmay diverge to respectively corresponds to the plurality of imageforming apparatus main bodies.

The electric power blocking unit may be disposed in plural to correspondto each alternating current electric power diverging to respectivelycorresponding to the plurality of image forming apparatus main bodiesfrom the electric power input unit.

The electric power relaying unit may include a user input unit, whereinthe switching unit may switch the alternating current electric power tocorrespond to an input command of the user input unit.

The electric power relaying unit may include a user input unit, whereinif a predetermined time is input through the user input unit, thecontrol unit may control a switching operation of the switching unit tocorrespond to an elapse of the input time.

Another aspect may be achieved by providing an image forming apparatus,including: an image forming apparatus main body; and an electric powerrelaying unit which transmits an alternating current electric poweroutput from an external power supply to the image forming apparatus mainbody.

Another aspect may be achieved by providing an electric power relayingunit which transmits an alternating current electric power output froman external power supply to an electronic device, the electric powerrelaying unit including: an electric power input unit which is connectedto the external power supply, and receives an alternating currentelectric power from the external power supply; an electric power outputunit which is connected to an electric power input terminal of theelectronic device, and outputs the input alternating current electricpower to the electronic device; and an electric power blocking unitwhich selectively blocks the alternating current electric power outputfrom the electric power input unit to be input to the electric poweroutput unit, the electric power blocking unit including: a switchingunit which switches an input of the alternating current electric powerwith respect to the electric power output unit; an electric powerdetecting unit which detects an electric power property of thealternating current electric power; a memory unit in which apredetermined electric power property information is stored; and acontrol unit which compares an electric power property detected by theelectric power detecting unit with an electric power propertyinformation stored in the memory unit, and controls a switchingoperation of the switching unit if determining that the detectedelectric power property corresponds to a predetermined electric powerproperty in a failure of the electronic device from a comparison result.

Additional aspects and/or advantages will be set forth in part in thedescription which follows and, in part, will be apparent from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and/or other aspects and advantages will become apparent andmore readily appreciated from the following description of theembodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings ofwhich:

FIG. 1 exemplarily illustrates an image forming apparatus according toan exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view illustrating a configuration of an imageforming apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electric power transmittingand controlling configuration of an electric power relaying unit in theimage forming apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a disposition of the electricpower relaying unit when the electric power relaying unit is applied tothe image forming apparatus in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 exemplarily illustrates an image forming apparatus according toan exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an electric power transmittingand controlling configuration of an electric power relaying unit in theimage forming apparatus in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an electric power transmittingand controlling configuration of an electric power relaying unitaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an electric power transmittingand controlling configuration of an electric power relaying unitaccording to an exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an electric power transmittingand controlling configuration of an electric power relaying unitaccording to an exemplary embodiment; and

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an electric power transmittingand controlling configuration of an electric power relaying unitaccording to an exemplary embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments, examples ofwhich are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein likereference numerals refer to like elements throughout. The exemplaryembodiments are described below so as to explain the embodiments byreferring to the figures. Repetitive description with respect to likeelements of different embodiments may be omitted for the convenience ofclarity. FIG. 1 exemplarily illustrates an image forming apparatus 1according to an exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 1 includes an imageforming apparatus main body 10 receiving an electric power from anexternal power supply 3 to operate, and an electric power cable 20connecting the external power supply 3 and the image forming apparatusmain body 10 and transmitting an alternating current electric powersupplied from the external power supply 3 to the image forming apparatusmain body 10.

The image forming apparatus main body 10 includes a cable connectingunit 19, an outer side of which is connected to an end part of theelectric power cable 20 to receive an alternating current electricpower.

Hereinafter, an operation of the image forming apparatus main body 10will be described by referring to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a side sectionalview illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus mainbody 10.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus main body 10 includes amedium supplying unit 400 supplying a loaded printing medium, an imageforming cartridge 500K, 500C, 500M and 500Y having an image carryingbody 510K, 510C, 510M and 510Y forming a visible image by a developer ofeach color, an exposing unit 600 corresponding to an image data toexpose the image carrying body 510K, 510C, 510M and 510Y, a transferringunit 700 transferring a visible image formed on the image carrying body510K, 510C, 510M and 510Y to a printing medium depending on a middletransferring method, a fusing unit 800 fusing an image on a printingmedium, and an electric power supplying unit 900 supplying an electricpower to these elements.

The medium supplying unit 400 includes a loading cassette 410 on which aprinting medium is loaded, and a pickup roller 420 picking up a printingmedium loaded on the loading cassette 410 to supply one by one. Thepicked up printing medium is transported to a registration roller 430.

The registration roller 430 aligns a front end of a transported printingmedium, and transports the printing medium to the transferring unit 700at a predetermined timing. The printing medium passes through thetransferring unit 700 and the fusing unit 800, and an image is formed ona surface thereof.

A duplex roller 440 reversely transports a printing medium, a surface ofwhich is formed with an image to the registration roller 430. Theprinting medium reversely transported by the duplex roller 440 istransported to the transferring unit 700 at an appropriate timing by theregistration roller 430 again so that an image can be formed on theother surface thereof on which an image is not formed.

The image forming cartridge 500K, 500C, 500M and 500Y is configured tocorrespond to a plurality of colors. For example, the image formingcartridge 500K, 500C, 500M and 500Y is provided to correspond to adeveloper of black, cyan, magenta and yellow, and supplies the developerof each color to the image carrying body 510K, 510C, 510M and 510Y.

The image carrying body 510K, 510C, 510M and 510Y is exposed by theexposing unit 600 so that an electrostatic latent image is formed on asurface thereof, and the image forming cartridge 500K, 500C, 500M and500Y supplies a developer to the electrostatic latent image so that avisible image can be formed on the image carrying body 510K, 510C, 510Mand 510Y.

The transferring unit 700 transfers a visible image of the imagecarrying body 510K, 510C, 510M and 510Y on a printing medium with amiddle transferring type. For this, the transferring unit 700 includes amiddle transferring belt 710 moving by a caterpillar type withcontacting to the image carrying body 510K, 510C, 510M and 510Y so thata visible image can be transferred and overlapped thereon, a drivingroller 720 rotating the middle transferring belt 710, a finaltransferring roller 730 transferring a visible image on the middletransferring belt 710 to a printing medium, and a transferring backuproller 740 backing up the final transferring roller 730.

Also, the transferring unit 700 includes a transferring roller 750K,750C, 750M and 750Y disposed to correspond to the image carrying body510K, 510C, 510M and 510Y to interpose the middle transferring belt 710therebetween. The transferring roller 750K, 750C, 750M and 750Y faceseach image carrying body 510K, 510C, 510M and 510Y, and transfers avisible image on the image carrying body 510K, 510C, 510M and 510Y tothe middle transferring belt 710.

The fusing unit 800 includes a heating roller 810 generating andemitting a heat, and a pressing roller 820 pressing the heating roller810 to form a nip. A printing medium to which a visible image istransferred by the transferring unit 700 passes through the nip betweenthe heating roller 810 and the pressing roller 820, and the visibleimage on the printing medium is fused by the heat and the pressure.

The electric power supplying unit 900 converts an alternating currentelectric power supplied from the external power supply 3 into a directcurrent electric power, and adjusts to an appropriate voltage levelcorresponding to each element to output to each element.

Here, since the image forming apparatus main body 10 directly receivesan alternating current electric power through the electric power cable20, an alternating current electric power of an abnormal electric powerpattern which fails to be considered in a design manufacturing processof the image forming apparatus main body 10 may be transmitted to theimage forming apparatus main body 10. In this case, the image formingapparatus main body 10 is apt to be out of order or a fire is apt to becaused.

For example, the heating roller 810 of the fusing unit 800 generates ahigh heat for fusing. If an abnormal electric power is supplied to theimage forming apparatus main body 10, the amount of a heat generated inthe heating roller 810 is apt to increase up as to damage the imageforming apparatus main body 10. To prevent this, a fuse (not shown) isdisposed in the image forming apparatus main body 10. However, if anelectric power having a failure electric power property failing to beconsidered in a manufacturing process is input to the image formingapparatus main body 10, the fuse fails to be short-circuited and theimage forming apparatus main body 10 may be ignited due to an overheatof the heating roller 810.

Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an electric powerrelaying unit 30 selectively transmitting an alternating currentelectric power from the external power supply 3 to the image formingapparatus main body 10. If an alternating current electric powercorresponds to an abnormal electric power pattern determined tocorrespond to an operating environment of the image forming apparatusmain body 10, the electric power relaying unit 30 blocks the alternatingcurrent electric power to be transmitted to the image forming apparatusmain body 10.

Accordingly, although the image forming apparatus main body 10 is notrecalled and repaired, the image forming apparatus main body 10 can beprotected to correspond to an abnormal electric power pattern consideredafter the manufacturing process.

Here, the electric power relaying unit 30 has a configurationcorresponding to existing plug and outlet to contact and electricallyconnect to the existing electric power cable 20 and the cable connectingunit 19.

Hereinafter, a configuration of the electric power relaying unit 30according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described byreferring to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an electricpower transmitting and controlling configuration of the electric powerrelaying unit 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, the electric power relaying unit 30 includes anelectric power input unit 100 to which an alternating current electricpower is input from the external power supply 3, an electric poweroutput unit 200 outputting an alternating current electric power inputto the electric power input unit 100 to the image forming apparatus mainbody 10, and an electric power blocking unit 300 blocking an alternatingcurrent electric power to be transmitted to the electric power outputunit 200 if an alternating current electric power pattern input to theelectric power input unit 100 is determined to be an abnormal electricpower pattern.

The electric power input unit 100 is connected to the electric powercable 20 connected to the external power supply 3, or is directlyconnected to the external power supply 3 to receive an alternatingcurrent electric power to output to the electric power output unit 200.The electric power input unit 100 may include at least one of an outletconfiguration for enabling an end part of the electric power cable 20 tobe connected thereto, and a plug configuration for being connected tothe external power supply 3.

The electric power output unit 200 outputs an alternating currentelectric power output from the electric power input unit 100 to theimage forming apparatus main body 10. Like the case of the electricpower input unit 100, the electric power output unit 200 may have aconfiguration to which the electric power cable 20 connected to theimage forming apparatus main body 10 is connected, or a configurationallowing to be directly connected to the cable connecting unit 19 of theimage forming apparatus main body 10.

The electric power blocking unit 300 includes a switching unit 310switching an alternating current electric power output from the electricpower input unit 100 to be input to the electric power output unit 200,an electric power detecting unit 320 detecting an electric power patternof an alternating current electric power output from the electric powerinput unit 100, a memory unit 350 in which a profile of a predeterminedelectric power pattern is stored, and a control unit 370 comparing anelectric power pattern detected in the electric power detecting unit 320with an electric power pattern profile of the memory unit 350 todetermine whether to be an abnormal electric power or not andcontrolling the switching unit 310 depending on this determining result.

Also, the electric power blocking unit 300 may further include a displayunit 330 displaying a control operation of the control unit 370, a userinput unit 340 manipulated by a user and transmitting a predeterminedcommand to the control unit 370, and an interface unit 360 provided tobe accessible to the memory unit 350 or the control unit 370 from anoutside.

The switching unit 310 is disposed on an electric power path between theelectric power input unit 100 and the electric power output unit 200,and selectively allows or blocks an output of an alternating currentelectric power. The configuration of the switching unit 310 for this isnot defined, and may be embodied by a relay or a switching semiconductorsuch as a triode for alternating current (TRIAC). The TRIAC means a kindof a two direction and three terminal thyrister capable of controllingan average current.

The electric power detecting unit 320 is disposed on an electric powerpath between the electric power input unit 100 and the switching unit310. The electric power detecting unit 320 detects various electricpower information, such as a current or a voltage of an alternatingcurrent electric power, to transmit to the control unit 370. In general,since an alternating current electric power output from the externalpower supply 3 is a high voltage of 110V or 220V, the electric powerdetecting unit 320 decreases the voltage of the alternating currentelectric power so that the control unit 370 can be prevented from beingdamaged. Also, the electric power detecting unit 320 may convert thealternating current electric power into a direct current electric powerhaving a voltage decreased to a predetermined level to transmit to thecontrol unit 370.

The electric power detecting unit 320 may be embodied by various typesdepending on a design type, and may employ a potential transformer (PT),a current transformer (CT), a shunt, etc. The potential transformerconverts a high voltage to a low voltage which is proportional thereto,and is connected in parallel with a circuit to be used. The currenttransformer lowers a high current to a low current which is proportionalthereto, and is connected in series with a circuited to be used. Theshunt is a stationary resistor connected in series with a circuit, andhas a high precision in comparison to the current transformer.

The display unit 330 displays a current operating state of the electricpower relaying unit 30, for example, the case that an alternatingcurrent electric power output is blocked by an abnormal electric powerdetecting, to inform a user. The display unit 330 may be embodied by aliquid crystal display, a light emitting diode (LED), a speaker, abuzzer, etc. Also, the display unit 330 may display a manipulating stateof the user input unit 340.

The user input unit 340 is manipulated by a user to transmit a commandcontrolling the switching unit 310 to the control unit 370. For example,the user input unit 340 may transmit a command blocking or allowing anoutput of an alternating current electric power through the switchingunit 310 to the control unit 370. Also, when updating an electric powerpattern profile of the memory unit 350 through the interface unit 360, auser may control this updating process through the user input unit 340.

The memory unit 350 is embodied by a non volatile memory such as a flashmemory to prevent a stored data from disappearing although an electricpower is blocked. The memory unit 350 stores a profile of an abnormalelectric power pattern corresponding to an operating environment of theimage forming apparatus main body 10. That is, various profiles ofabnormal electric power patterns which fail to be taken into account ata time manufacturing the image forming apparatus main body 10 are storedin the memory unit 350, and these profiles are differently designateddepending on the kind, a manufacturer, a model name, etc. of the imageforming apparatus main body 10.

A profile of an electric power pattern stored in the memory unit 350 maybe embodied by various information such as a current value, a voltagevalue, a current wave pattern, etc., and may be not defined thereto.

The interface unit 360 is disposed so that the control unit 370 cancommunicate with an outside, or so that a data stored in the memory unit350 can be accessible. That is, the interface unit 360 allows updatingsuch as deleting, correcting, adding, etc. of an electric power patternprofile already stored in the memory unit 350 to be performed.

The interface unit 360 is connected with an external computer (notshown) by a local or a network to allow this updating to be performed.Also, the interface unit 360 allows a universal serial bus (USB) memoryin which an electric power pattern profile for updating is stored to beconnected, and allows an updating code determined in the control unit370 to be executed so that an updating can be automatically performed.

The control unit 370 compares an electric power pattern detected fromthe electric power detecting unit 320 with an electric power patternprofile stored in the memory unit 350, and determines whether analternating current electric power transmitted to the electric poweroutput unit 200 from the electric power input unit 100 corresponds to anabnormal electric power pattern or not from this comparing result.

If the control unit 370 determines that the alternating current electricpower does not correspond to an abnormal electric power pattern and isnormal, the control unit 370 allows an electric power output through theswitching unit 310. Accordingly, the alternating current electric poweroutput from the external electric power 3 can be supplied to the imageforming apparatus main body 10 through the electric power output unit200.

On the other hand, if the control unit 370 determines that thealternating current electric power corresponds to an abnormal electricpower pattern, the control unit 370 controls a switching operation ofthe switching unit 310 to block an electric power output through theswitching unit 310. Accordingly, supplying of the alternating currentelectric power through the electric power output unit 200 is blocked,and the image forming apparatus main body 10 is prevented from beingsupplied with an electric power. That is, if an alternating currentelectric power shows an abnormal electric power pattern which becomesthe cause of failure of the image forming apparatus main body 10, thecorresponding alternating current electric power can be prevented frombeing transmitted to the image forming apparatus main body 10, therebypreventing a failure or a fire of the image forming apparatus main body10.

The control unit 370 displays this control result of the switching unit310 through the display unit 330 to inform a user.

The control unit 370 may be embodied by a complex programmable logicdevice (CPLD), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a group ofintegrated circuits (IC), etc., or may be embodied by a mixture thereof.Depending on a designing type, an integrated configuration of thecontrol unit 370 and the memory unit 350 can be possible.

Hereinafter, a using exemplary embodiment of the electric power relayingunit 30 according to the present exemplary embodiment will be described.Here, that the image forming apparatus main body 10 directly receives analternating current electric power from the external power supply 3through the electric power cable 20 is assumed as an initial state.

If an abnormal electric power pattern which is the cause of a failure ofthe image forming apparatus main body 10 is reported from a user, alaboratory, etc. after manufacturing and releasing of the image formingapparatus main body 10, a manufacture confirms through an experimentwhether the image forming apparatus main body 10 of the same model asthe image forming apparatus currently released is capable of beingprotected to correspond to the reported abnormal electric power pattern.

If the configuration of the present image forming apparatus main body 10is confirmed to fail to correspond to the abnormal electric powerpattern, the manufacturer sends to a user the electric power relayingunit 30 having the memory unit 350 in which a profile of thecorresponding abnormal electric power pattern is reported.

The user disposes the sent electric power relaying unit 30 to asupplying terminal of an alternating current electric power with respectto the image forming apparatus main body 10.

An alternating current electric power output from the external powersupply 3 is transmitted to the image forming apparatus main body 10through the electric power input unit 100, the electric power detectingunit 320, the switching unit 310 and the electric power output unit 200.The electric power detecting unit 320 transmits an electric powerinformation of the alternating current electric power to the controlunit 370, and the control unit 370 compares the transmitted electricpower information with an electric power pattern profile of the memoryunit 350.

If the control unit 370 determines that there is no abnormality in thecomparison result, the control unit 370 maintains the switching unit 310to allow an electric power output. If the control unit 370 determinesthat the alternating current electric power shows an abnormal electricpower pattern in the comparison result, the control unit 370 controlsthe switching unit 310 to block an electric power output to prevent anabnormal electric power from being supplied to the image formingapparatus main body 10. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus mainbody 10 can be protected from an abnormal electric power. Also, thecontrol unit 370 displays the electric power blocking result in thedisplay unit 330 so that a user can respond thereto.

Under the state that the electric power relaying unit 30 is disposed tothe image forming apparatus 1, a new abnormal electric power pattern maybe reported again. Then, a user connects the interface unit 360 to aserver (not shown) operated by a manufacturer by a network so that aprofile of a new abnormal electric power pattern can be updated in thememory unit 350.

Also, the user downloads an updating application or an electric powerprofile for updating through a computer (not shown) connected to theserver by a network. Then, the user may connect the computer to theinterface unit 360 by a local, and then may perform an updating of thememory unit 350 through the computer.

Like this, according to the present exemplary embodiment, whether analternating current electric power is an abnormal electric power or notis determined based on an electric power pattern profile predeterminedin the memory unit 350, and an output of the alternating currentelectric power is blocked depending on the determining result, therebyprotecting the image forming apparatus main body 10. Also, withoutcollecting the image forming apparatus main body 10 from a user, theimage forming apparatus main body 10 can be protected to correspond toan abnormal electric power pattern which is considered after releasingof the image forming apparatus main body 10.

Hereinafter, a position of disposing the electric power relaying unit 30will be described by referring to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a block diagramillustrating a disposing type of the electric power relaying unit 30when the electric power relaying unit 30 is applied to the image formingapparatus 1, and an arrow in the drawing refers to a transmission of analternating current electric power.

(1) of FIG. 4 illustrates the state that the electric power relayingunit 30 is not applied, and the electric power cable 20 is connectedbetween the external power supply 3 and the image forming apparatus mainbody 10 to transmit an alternating current electric power of theexternal power supply 3 to the image forming apparatus main body 10. Inthis case, it is difficult to correspond to an abnormal electric powerfailing to be considered in manufacturing of the image forming apparatusmain body 10 to protect the image forming apparatus main body 10.Accordingly, the present exemplary embodiment may employ the electricpower relaying unit 30 as follows.

(2) of FIG. 4 illustrates the state that the electric power relayingunit 30 is connected between the electric power cable 20 and the imageforming apparatus main body 10. In this case, the electric powerrelaying unit 30 may have an outlet of the same standard as the cableconnecting unit 19 of the image forming apparatus main body 10.

(3) of FIG. 4 illustrates the state that the electric power relayingunit 30 is connected between the external power supply 3 and theelectric power cable 20. In this case, the electric power relaying unit30 may include a plug for directly connecting to the external powersupply 3, and an outlet to which the electric power cable 20 isconnected.

(4) of FIG. 4 illustrates the state that the electric power relayingunit 30 is directly connected between the external power supply 3 andthe image forming apparatus main body 10 without the electric powercable 20. That is, the electric power relaying unit 30 is connected tothe external power supply 3 and the cable connecting unit 19 instead ofthe electric power cable 20.

Like this, the electric power relaying unit 30 may be disposed to anyposition as long as to block an alternating current electric powersupplied to the image forming apparatus main body 10 from the externalpower supply 3.

In the above exemplary embodiment, the electric power relaying unit 30is exemplarily illustrated to be disposed to correspond to the singleimage forming apparatus main body 10, but the present embodiments arenot defined thereto. For example, the configuration of an electric powerrelaying unit 31 corresponding to at least two image forming apparatusmain bodies 11 and 12 is possible, and this configuration will bedescribed as a second exemplary embodiment by referring to FIG. 5.

FIG. 5 exemplarily illustrates an image forming apparatus 1 according toan exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 5, according to the exemplary embodiment, the two imageforming apparatus main bodies 11 and 12 are provided unlike the firstexemplary embodiment. The electric power relaying unit 31 is connectedto the external power supply 3 to receive an alternating currentelectric power, and a first electric power cable 21 and a secondelectric power cable 22 respectively connected to the first imageforming apparatus main body 11 and the second image forming apparatusmain body 12 are connected to the electric power relaying unit 31. Thatis, in the exemplary embodiment, an alternating current electric poweroutput from the external power supply 3 diverges to be respectivelysupplied to the first image forming apparatus main body 11 and thesecond image forming apparatus main body 12.

Hereinafter, the electric power relaying unit 31 according to thepresent exemplary embodiment will be described by referring to FIG. 6.FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the electric power relaying unit31 according to the present exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, to protect the first image forming apparatus mainbody 11 and the second image forming apparatus main body 12 tocorrespond to the same abnormal electric power pattern, the electricpower relaying unit 30 may be separately disposed to each of the firstimage forming apparatus main body 11 and the second image formingapparatus main body 12. However, in this case, it is convenient toprotect all of the first image forming apparatus main body 11 and thesecond image forming apparatus main body 12 by the single electric powerrelaying unit 31.

For this, the electric power relaying unit 31 includes an electric powerinput unit 100, an electric power output unit 201 and an electric powerblocking unit 301. Also, the electric power blocking unit 301 includes aswitching unit 311, an electric power detecting unit 330, a display unit330, a user input unit 340, a memory unit 350, an interface unit 360 anda control unit 370. In the present exemplary embodiment, theconfiguration performing the same function as the first exemplaryembodiment may apply the same configuration as the first exemplaryembodiment.

The power output unit 201 includes a first main body connecting unit 210to which the first electric power cable 21 is connected, and a secondmain body connecting unit 220 to which the second electric power cable22 is connected. Accordingly, the electric power output unit 201 canrespectively output an alternating current electric power with respectto the first image forming apparatus main body 11 and the second imageforming apparatus main body 12.

The switching unit 311 respectively outputs an alternating currentelectric power output from the electric power input unit 100 to thefirst main body connecting unit 210 and the second main body connectingunit 220. If the switching unit 311 is controlled by the control unit370 to block an electric power output, all alternating current electricpower output to the first main body connecting unit 210 and the secondmain body connecting unit 220 can be blocked.

With this configuration, a user connects the electric power relayingunit 31 to the external power supply 3, and respectively connects theelectric power relaying unit 31 to the first image forming apparatusmain body 11 and the second image forming apparatus main body 12. In thememory unit 350 of the electric power relaying unit 31, a profile of anabnormal electric power pattern corresponding to all of the first imageforming apparatus main body 11 and the second image forming apparatusmain body 12 is stored.

The exemplary embodiment may be applied to the configuration of thecontrol unit 370 determining whether an alternating current electricpower is an abnormal electric power or not.

If an alternating current electric power pattern corresponds to anabnormal electric power pattern, this alternating current electric powermay be the cause of a failure of the first image forming apparatus mainbody 11 and the second image forming apparatus main body 12.Accordingly, the control unit 370 controls the switching unit 311 toblock an output of the alternating current electric power with respectto the first main body connecting unit 210 and the second main bodyconnecting unit 220. Accordingly, all of the first image formingapparatus main body 11 and the second image forming apparatus main body12 can be protected from the abnormal electric power.

In the exemplary embodiment, the first image forming apparatus main body11 and the second image forming apparatus main body 12 are illustratedto be protected together to correspond to the same abnormal electricpower pattern. However, abnormal electric power patterns respectivelycorresponding to the first image forming apparatus main body 11 and thesecond image forming apparatus main body 12 may be different from eachother.

The configuration with respect to this case is an exemplary embodiment,which will be described by referring to FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a blockdiagram illustrating an electric power relaying unit 32 according to theexemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 7, the electric power relaying unit 32 according to theexemplary embodiment includes an electric power input unit 101 receivingan alternating current electric power from an external power supply 3,an electric power output unit 201 respectively outputting an alternatingcurrent electric power diverging and output from the electric powerinput unit 101 to a first image forming apparatus main body 11 and asecond image forming apparatus main body 12, and a first electric powerblocking unit 303 and a second electric power blocking unit 304 disposedto block each alternating current electric power diverging and outputfrom the electric power input unit 101.

The electric power input unit 101 diverges and outputs an alternatingcurrent electric power from the external power supply 3 in a pluralityof lines, in the present exemplary embodiment, in two lines. Eachalternating current electric power diverging and output is output to afirst main body connecting unit 210 and a second main body connectingunit 220 of the electric power output unit 201.

The first main body connecting unit 210 and the second main bodyconnecting unit 220 are respectively connected to the first imageforming apparatus main body 11 and the second image forming apparatusmain body 12 to respectively supply an alternating current electricpower output from the electric power input unit 101 to the first imageforming apparatus main body 11 and the second image forming apparatusmain body 12.

The first electric power blocking unit 303 and the second electric powerblocking unit 304 respectively block an alternating current electricpower output to the first main body connecting unit 210 from theelectric power input unit 101, and an alternating current electric poweroutput to the second main body connecting unit 220 from the electricpower input unit 101. The detailed configurations of the first electricpower blocking unit 303 and the second electric power blocking unit 304may apply the electric power blocking unit 300 according to the firstexemplary embodiment.

The first electric power blocking unit 303 stores a profile related toan abnormal electric power pattern corresponding to an operatingenvironment of the first image forming apparatus main body 11. On theother hand, the second electric power blocking unit 304 stores a profilerelated to an abnormal electric power pattern corresponding to anoperating environment of the second image forming apparatus main body12. Since the operating environments of the first image formingapparatus main body 11 and the second image forming apparatus main body12 are different, each profile has a different pattern property.

That is, an electric power pattern which an alternating current electricpower shows corresponds to one of the case that it is no abnormalelectric power in all of the first image forming apparatus main body 11and the second image forming apparatus main body 12, the case that it isan abnormal electric power in all of the first image forming apparatusmain body 11 and the second image forming apparatus main body 12, andthe case that that it is an abnormal electric power in only one of thefirst image forming apparatus main body 11 and the second image formingapparatus main body 12.

The present exemplary embodiment is capable of corresponding to allthree cases, and especially, to the third case by respectivelyregulating an alternating current electric power diverging and outputfrom the electric power input unit 101.

Hereinafter, a method by which the electric power relaying unit 32according to the present exemplary embodiment separately protects thefirst image forming apparatus main body 11 and the second image formingapparatus main body 12 against an abnormal electric power will bedescribed.

A method of a user disposing the electric power relaying unit 32 mayapply the exemplary embodiment.

An alternating current electric power having a predetermined electricpower pattern is output from the electric power input unit 101 to berespectively input to the first electric power blocking unit 303 and thesecond electric power blocking unit 304.

The first electric power blocking unit 303 determines whether thealternating current electric power is an abnormal electric power or notbased on a predetermined electric power pattern profile, and blocks anoutput of the alternating current electric power with respect to thefirst main body connecting unit 210 if determining to be an abnormalelectric power.

Also, the second electric power blocking unit 304 determines whether thealternating current electric power is an abnormal electric power or notbased on an electric power pattern profile predetermined to be differentfrom the first electric power blocking unit 303. Here, the electricpower pattern profiles which the first electric power blocking unit 303and the second electric power blocking unit 304 refer to are different.Accordingly, the second electric power blocking unit 304 may determinethe alternating current electric power determined to be an abnormalelectric power by the first electric power blocking unit 303 not to bean abnormal electric power.

In this case, the second electric power blocking unit 304 allows anoutput of the alternating current electric power with respect to thesecond main body connecting unit 220.

Like this, if an electric power pattern of an alternating currentelectric power operates as an abnormal electric power with respect toonly a part of a plurality of image forming apparatus main body 11 and12, an alternating current electric power supplying with respect to theimage forming apparatus main body 11 determining to be an abnormalelectric power may be blocked, and an alternating current electric powersupplying may be allowed with respect to the remaining image formingapparatus main body 12.

The electric power blocking unit 305 may be embodied by a differentconfiguration from the exemplary embodiments described above, and thisis an exemplary embodiment, which will be described by referring to FIG.8. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an electric power relayingunit 33 according to the exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, the electric power relaying unit 33 according to thepresent exemplary embodiment includes an electric power input unit 100to which an alternating current electric power is input from an externalpower supply 3, an electric power output unit 200 outputting analternating current electric power from the electric power input unit100 to an image forming apparatus main body 10, and an electric powerblocking unit 305 selectively blocking an output of an alternatingcurrent electric power with respect to the electric power output unit200.

The electric power blocking unit 305 includes an electric power blockingelement 380 disposed on an electric power path between the electricpower input unit 100 and the electric power output unit 200 and blockingan electric power flow of the electric power path to correspond to anelectric power property in a predetermined failure of the image formingapparatus main body 10, and a control unit 361 displaying in a displayunit 330 that an electric power is blocked by the electric powerblocking element 380.

If an alternating current electric power of an abnormal electric powerpattern predetermined to correspond to the image forming apparatus mainbody 10 flows, the electric power blocking element 380 isshort-circuited on its own to block the corresponding alternatingcurrent electric power to be transmitted to the electric power outputunit 200. The electric power blocking element 380 employs ashort-circuit property selected by a manufacturer to correspond to anoperating environment of the image forming apparatus main body 10.

The configuration of the electric power blocking element 380 is notdefined, and may be embodied by a fuse, a bimetal, etc.

With this configuration, if an alternating current electric powerflowing in the electric power blocking element 380 is an abnormalelectric power to correspond to a short-circuit property of the electricpower blocking element 380, the electric power blocking element 380 isshort-circuited to block the flow of the alternating current electricpower. Accordingly, an abnormal electric power can be prevented frombeing supplied to the device main body 10.

In the above exemplary embodiment, the single image forming apparatusmain body 10 is illustrated to be connected to the electric power outputunit 200, but a plurality of image forming apparatus main bodies 11 and12 may be connected thereto. This case is an exemplary embodiment, whichwill be described by referring to FIG. 9.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an electric power relaying unit35 according to the exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the electric power relaying unit 35 according tothe exemplary embodiment, a first image forming apparatus main body 11and a second image forming apparatus main body 12 are respectivelyconnected to an electric power output unit 201 so that an alternatingcurrent electric power can be respectively received. This configurationof the electric power output unit 201 may apply the case of FIG. 6according to the exemplary embodiment.

An electric power blocking element 380 has a short-circuit propertycorresponding to all of a first image forming apparatus main body 11 anda second image forming apparatus main body 12. If an abnormal electricpower flows, the electric power blocking element 380 is short-circuitedto block an electric power output with respect to the electric poweroutput unit 201.

Accordingly, the first image forming apparatus main body 11 and thesecond image forming apparatus main body 12 can be prevented from beingsupplied with an abnormal electric power.

Also, to be different from the fifth exemplary embodiment, aconfiguration separately performing an alternating current electricpower blocking with respect to the first image forming apparatus mainbody 11 and the second image forming apparatus main body 12 is possible.This configuration is an exemplary embodiment, which will be describedby referring to FIG. 10.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating an electric power relaying unit36 according to the exemplary embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 10, the electric power relaying unit 36 includes anelectric power input unit 101 to which an alternating current electricpower is input from an external power supply 3, an electric power outputunit 201 respectively outputting an alternating current electric powerdiverging and output from the electric power input unit 101 to a firstimage forming apparatus main body 11 and a second image formingapparatus main body 12, and a first electric power blocking element 381and a second electric power blocking element 382 disposed to separatelyblock an alternating current electric power diverging and output fromthe electric power input unit 101.

The first electric power blocking element 381 and the second electricpower blocking element 382 have short-circuit properties separatelycorresponding to abnormal electric power patterns of the first imageforming apparatus main body 11 and the second image forming apparatusmain body 12.

For example, an alternating current electric power output from theelectric power input unit 101 may not be an abnormal electric power withrespect to the first image forming apparatus main body 11, but may be anabnormal electric power with respect to the second image formingapparatus main body 12. In this case, the first electric power blockingelement 381 is not short-circuited and allows a flow of an alternatingcurrent electric power, but the second electric power blocking element382 is short-circuited to block a flow of an alternating currentelectric power. Accordingly, the alternating current electric power issupplied to the first image forming apparatus main body 11, and thealternating current electric power is not supplied to the second imageforming apparatus main body 12.

Like this, the single electric power relaying unit 35 and 36 can beapplied and correspond to a plurality of image forming apparatus mainbodies 11 and 12 having different abnormal electric power patterns.

In the present exemplary embodiment, the electric power relaying unit 30is illustrated to be applied to the image forming apparatus 1, but theelectric power relaying unit 30 may be applied to various apparatusesreceiving an electric power from an outside to perform variousfunctions, for example, a scanner, a multifunction device, an electroniccopier, a television, a computer main body, home appliances such as arefrigerator, a washing machine, etc.

According to the embodiments, by applying an electric power relayingunit blocking an electric power output to an image forming apparatus tocorrespond to an abnormal electric power pattern failing to beanticipated in a manufacturing process of the image forming apparatus,the image forming apparatus can be safely protected from a failureelectric power.

Also, since it is sufficient to just add an electric power relaying unitwithout repairing an image forming apparatus, it is unnecessary for amanufacturer to collect the image forming apparatus, and a user iscapable of easily responding thereto if a problem happens. Accordingly,enormous human and material costs caused in the conventional recall canbe drastically reduced.

Also, since an electric power pattern profile corresponding to anoperating environment of an image forming apparatus is stored in amemory unit, an abnormal electric power pattern corresponding to theimage forming apparatus can be easily discerned.

Also, by applying an interface unit accessible to a memory unit from anoutside, an electric power pattern profile stored in the memory unit canbe updated. Accordingly, the present invention can correspond to a newabnormal electric power pattern which may happen later, and can flexiblycorrespond to and be applied to an image forming apparatus embodied byvarious types.

Also, by applying a display unit displaying an electric power blockingwhen an electric power is blocked by a switching unit, the electricpower blocking can be informed to a user so that the user can dealtherewith appropriately.

Although a few exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, itwill be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be madein these exemplary embodiments without departing from the principles andspirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appendedclaims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. An electric power relaying unit of an imageforming apparatus which transmits an alternating current electric poweroutput from an external power supply to an image forming apparatus mainbody, the electric power relaying unit of the image forming apparatuscomprising: an electric power input unit which is connected to theexternal power supply, and receives an alternating current electricpower from the external power supply; an electric power output unitwhich is connected to an electric power input terminal of the imageforming apparatus main body, and outputs the input alternating currentelectric power to the image forming apparatus main body; and an electricpower blocking unit which selectively blocks the alternating currentelectric power output from the electric power input unit to be input tothe electric power output unit, the electric power blocking unitcomprising a switching unit which switches an input of the alternatingcurrent electric power with respect to the electric power output unit;an electric power detecting unit which detects an electric powerproperty of the alternating current electric power; a memory unit inwhich a predetermined electric power property information is stored, thememory unit storing a profile of a predetermined abnormal electric powerpattern; a control unit which compares an electric power propertydetected by the electric power detecting unit with an electric powerproperty information stored in the memory unit, and controls a switchingoperation of the switching unit if determining that the detectedelectric power property corresponds to a predetermined electric powerproperty in a failure of the image forming apparatus main body from acomparison result; and an interface unit which is provided to beaccessible to the memory unit from an outside so that the profile of theelectric power pattern stored in the memory unit can be updated.
 2. Theelectric power relaying unit of the image forming apparatus according toclaim 1, wherein, if the alternating current electric power correspondsto an abnormal electric power predetermined to correspond to anoperating environment of the image forming apparatus main body, thecontrol unit determines that the alternating current electric powercorresponds to an electric power property in a failure of the imageforming apparatus main body.
 3. The electric power relaying unit of theimage forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein if an electricpower pattern detected by the electric power detecting unit correspondsto the profile of the abnormal electric power stored in the memory unit,the control unit determines that the alternating current electric powercorresponds to an electric power property in a failure of the imageforming apparatus main body.
 4. The electric power relaying unit of theimage forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interface unitcomprises at least one of a memory port to which an external memory ismounted, and a communication port allowing a local communication or anetwork communication.
 5. The electric power relaying unit of the imageforming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the electric powerblocking unit further comprises a display unit which displays that anoutput of the alternating current electric power is blocked by theswitching unit.
 6. The electric power relaying unit of the image formingapparatus according to claim 3, wherein the electric power output unitis provided to allow a plurality of image forming apparatus main bodiesto be connected thereto so that the plurality of image forming apparatusmain bodies can respectively receive the alternating current electricpower.
 7. The electric power relaying unit of the image formingapparatus according to claim 6, wherein the alternating current electricpower output from the switching unit diverges to respectively correspondto the plurality of image forming apparatus main bodies.
 8. The electricpower relaying unit of the image forming apparatus according to claim 6,wherein the electric power blocking unit is disposed in plural tocorrespond to each alternating current electric power diverging torespectively corresponding to the plurality of image forming apparatusmain bodies from the electric power input unit.
 9. The electric powerrelaying unit of the image forming apparatus according to claim 3,further comprising a user input unit, wherein the switching unitswitches the alternating current electric power to correspond to aninput command of the user input unit.
 10. The electric power relayingunit of the image forming apparatus according to claim 3, furthercomprising a user input unit, wherein if a predetermined time is inputthrough the user input unit, the control unit controls a switchingoperation of the switching unit to correspond to an elapse of the inputtime.
 11. An image forming apparatus, comprising: an image formingapparatus main body; and an electric power relaying unit according toclaim 1 which transmits an alternating current electric power outputfrom an external power supply to the image forming apparatus main body.12. An electric power relaying unit which transmits an alternatingcurrent electric power output from an external power supply to anelectronic device, the electric power relaying unit comprising: anelectric power input unit which is connected to the external powersupply, and receives an alternating current electric power from theexternal power supply; an electric power output unit which is connectedto an electric power input terminal of the electronic device, andoutputs the input alternating current electric power to the electronicdevice; and an electric power blocking unit which selectively blocks thealternating current electric power output from the electric power inputunit to be input to the electric power output unit, the electric powerblocking unit comprising a switching unit which switches an input of thealternating current electric power with respect to the electric poweroutput unit; an electric power detecting unit which detects an electricpower property of the alternating current electric power; a memory unitin which a predetermined electric power property information is stored,the memory unit storing a profile of a predetermined abnormal electricpower pattern; a control unit which compares an electric power propertydetected by the electric power detecting unit with an electric powerproperty information stored in the memory unit, and controls a switchingoperation of the switching unit if determining that the detectedelectric power property corresponds to a predetermined electric powerproperty in a failure of the electronic device from a comparison result;and an interface unit which is provided to be accessible to the memoryunit from an outside so that the profile of the electric power patternstored in the memory unit can be updated.
 13. An the electric powerblocking unit for use in an electric power relaying unit which transmitsan alternating current electric power output from an external powersupply to an electronic device, the electric power blocking unitcomprising: a switching unit to switch input of the alternating currentelectric; an electric power detecting unit to detects an electric powerproperty of the alternating current electric power; a memory unit in tostore information of predetermined electric power property information,the memory unit storing a profile of a predetermined abnormal electricpower pattern; a control unit to compare the electric power propertydetected by the electric power detecting unit with predeterminedelectric power property information stored in the memory unit, andcontrols a switching operation of the switching unit if determining thatthe detected electric power property corresponds to a predeterminedelectric power property in a failure of the electronic device from acomparison result; and an interface unit which is provided to beaccessible to the memory unit from an outside so that the profile of theelectric power pattern stored in the memory unit can be updated.
 14. Theelectric power blocking unit according to claim 13, wherein if anelectric power pattern detected by the electric power detecting unitcorresponds to the profile of the abnormal electric power stored in thememory unit, the control unit determines that the alternating currentelectric power corresponds to an electric power property in a failure ofthe electronic device.
 15. The electric power blocking unit according toclaim 14, wherein the interface unit comprises at least one of a memoryport to which an external memory is mounted, and a communication portallowing a local communication or a network communication.
 16. Theelectric power blocking unit according to claim 14, wherein theinterface unit is connected to a universal serial bus (USB) memory inwhich an electric power pattern profile for updating is stored toautomatically update the control unit.
 17. The electric power blockingunit according to claim 14, further comprising a display unit whichdisplays that an output of the alternating current electric power isblocked by the switching unit.